. . . Would it be better for classes to be maybe only 45 minutes and go about 18 weeks rather than 16 weeks with 50-minute classes?
I suspect that it would be, but that might be stretching resources too much. There are many difficult classes with subject matter that takes time to master. I remember when we switched from the semester system to the quarter system many professors, particularly in the humanities and languages, said that it was much more difficult to successfully teach students their subject in ten weeks versus the former 16 weeks, despite in some cases the same amount of instructional time.
Like you said, depending on the subject, having longer or shorter classes may be better. I think it certainly would be very hard for professors to adjust if they are used to one length and then classes are changed. Like I was eluding to earlier, when I had classes that were two hours a day but just two days a week, I feel like we typically learned less than in a four-day, one-hour class because classes often got cut way short and I don't think professors necessarily doubled assignments between each class. I'm guessing this probably is even truer of summer classes with such long classes and a short session.
I was at O.U. during the quarter era.
Most science and engineering classes went for a full year.
They were just broken down into 3 sections,instead of 2 under a semester system.
Those classes were all three days a week,plus either a lab or, for larger classes, a once a week "small group",I forget what they called it,class with a grad student to go over specific problems.
I took one technical class (Land Surveying) during the Summer.
The pace was brutal,class 4 nights a week,with a minimum of 2 tests and 2 labs.
I had been doing land surveying during summers and breaks since I was in 8th grade.
But,at the time, N.J.required 1 year of college level surveying classes to take the Land Surveyor's Licensing Exam so I didn't have a choice.
If I didn't have the background in the field,I don't know if I would have passed.